Chapter 439: Hachiman, the Mastermind Behind the Scenes
"Can you really help me?"
Hearing Minami's words, Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
"If it's about what we discussed earlier, then yes, of course, I can. But I still hope you can understand, Minami, that you're the current chairperson, so you need to fulfill your responsibilities properly, rather than just being passive."
"I know that, but now everything is controlled by Yukinoshita. I can't intervene at all, and I'm really not good at these things." Minami's expression soured at the mention of Yukino.
Hachiman shrugged. "That's not an excuse. If you're not good at something, you should learn. No one is naturally good at everything. Even something as simple as using chopsticks took us a long time to learn when we were kids."
"Remember what you said before? You wanted to use this opportunity as chairperson to grow and overcome what you're not good at. Isn't that a kind of growth?"
"And remember, you're the nominal chairperson. If everything is being done by Yukino, then it's not right."
"I know that," Minami hesitated, "but with Yukinoshita..."
"I'll talk to Yukino about that. What I'm asking you now is, are you willing to overcome what you're not good at?"
Hachiman decided to give Minami a chance, considering Yukino's questionable actions. If Minami was willing to make an effort, he wouldn't mind helping her achieve her goal of fame.
But if she continued to be passive and indecisive like in the original story, then he wouldn't hesitate to be blunt.
After hearing Hachiman's words, Minami remained silent and lowered her head.
After a moment, she raised her head, looking at Hachiman with determination.
"Then I'll trust you this time, Hikigaya-kun. I'll do my best for this cultural festival."
As long as she could become famous, what harm was there in giving it a try?
Seeing Minami's determination, Hachiman nodded.
"Good, then I'll look forward to your efforts."
With that said, he didn't wait for her response and turned to continue walking towards the meeting room.
Minami hurriedly followed suit.
....
As they approached the meeting room door, they noticed a group of people gathered around, all of whom were selected as executive committee members from various classes.
Observing the scene, Minami inquired, "What's going on inside?"
"Oh, it's because Shiromeguri-senpai invited someone, but it seems like this person knows Yukinoshita-san," a girl who had previously conversed with Minami replied.
Upon hearing this, Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
Knows Yukino?
Could it be Haruno? He recalled from the original story that Meguri did indeed invite Haruno.
Standing at the door of the meeting room, Hachiman peeked inside and sure enough, he spotted Haruno.
At that moment, they witnessed Meguri, the student council president, standing in front of Yukino, with her hands clasped together and a gentle smile on her face.
"Since the volunteer group doesn't have enough members yet, I thought, why not invite Haruno-senpai."
"Back when Haruno-senpai was in her third year, she organized a volunteer group, a band, and even worked with Hiratsuka-sensei. It was truly amazing."
Hearing this, Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
Wow, she really is something. No wonder she's the Dancing Queen of the Danger Zone.
Praising Haruno like this in front of Yukino, would the girl accept it?
Impressively done, Shiromeguri-senpai. Do you realize that your behavior, if seen in some anime, would make the girl go all starry-eyed?
As expected, after hearing Meguri's words, Yukino's expression turned cold. "Of course, I know that. I witnessed it myself back then."
Seemingly sensing the girl's displeasure, Meguri appeared to realize she had done something unnecessary and looked a bit embarrassed for a moment.
Fortunately, Haruno intervened to defuse the situation.
"Haha, Shiromeguri-san, let's not dwell on that. I was just joking around back then."
"But it's fine if I come, right? Yukino, after all, I'm your sister and I want to do a little more for my lovely sister."
Unfortunately, despite her sister's enthusiasm, Yukino turned her head away.
"Onee-san, if you want to come, then come. After all, I'm not the chairperson of this cultural festival."
Upon hearing this, Haruno was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected her sister, who had always been chasing after her, to give up the position of chairperson.
"Oh my, Yukino, you're not the chairperson? Then let me guess who it is..."
"Could it be Hikigaya-kun?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a familiar voice sounded in her ears.
"I'm sorry, Miss Haruno, you guessed wrong. I'm not the chairperson either."
Turning towards the source of the voice, Haruno saw Hachiman appearing in the meeting room.
"Oh, what a coincidence. We were just talking about you. Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun," Haruno greeted with a smile.
Hachiman nodded in return. "Good afternoon, Miss Haruno."
"It's strange, since neither Hikigaya-kun nor Yukino are the chairperson, then who could it be?" Haruno's face showed a hint of confusion.
Hearing this, Meguri, who was nearby, looked curious. "Haruno-senpai, does this Hikigaya fellow have exceptional abilities?"
"Haha, exceptional abilities?" Haruno chuckled as she patted the shoulder of her little fan.
"Shiromeguri-san, let me tell you, if Hikigaya-kun is willing to contribute, then this cultural festival will definitely be much more exciting than the one I organized."
"Oh? Is he that amazing?" Meguri's young face was filled with surprise.
"That's right, Hikigaya-kun's abilities are beyond doubt." At this moment, Haruno's expression also became more serious.
Talking about Hachiman now, he had become a figure that even their Yukinoshita family dared not easily provoke.
Looking back a year ago, Yukino's family only saw Hachiman as a promising young talent worth cultivating.
And now, not to mention Hachiman's close ties with the Nakiri family, even his own assets are comparable to the entire Yukinoshita family.
...
"Since neither you nor Yukino are the chairperson, can you tell me who it is?" Haruno's face showed some curiosity.
"Of course." Hachiman smiled faintly, then pointed to the somewhat lost Minami standing at the door.
"This student is the chairperson of this cultural festival."
Upon hearing Hachiman mention her, Minami could only awkwardly step forward with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, sorry, I got carried away chatting with my classmates, so I'm a bit late."
Seeing Minami coming in, Meguri also introduced her to Haruno.
"Haruno-senpai, this is the chairperson of the cultural festival, Sagami Minami."
"Ah... this student?" Hearing this, Haruno raised her elegant eyebrows, then turned her gaze to Minami who had just entered.
Sensing Haruno's gaze, Minami felt inexplicably nervous. However, when she met Haruno's eyes, she felt a kind of inherent pressure, which made her hurriedly introduce herself.
"Hello... I'm Minami Sagami."
Ignoring her self-introduction, Haruno raised a question, "Huh? As the chairperson, you're late to the meeting..."
Hearing this, Minami broke out in a cold sweat.
Because originally, in her mind, everything she had to do was done by Yukino, so she thought it didn't matter if she was late.
But being asked directly by Haruno, she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"Uh, well, you see..."
At that moment, Hachiman chuckled and spoke up.
"It's because our class just decided on the performance for the cultural festival, so Minami and I were a bit late. I apologize."
"Oh, I see." Haruno raised an eyebrow, accepting the explanation.
"But as the chairperson, could you promise me to participate in this cultural festival as a volunteer group?"
Glancing at Haruno and then at Hachiman, Minami hesitantly responded, "Um... I think that should be okay. Since the volunteer group is still short of members, and it also strengthens our ties with the local community, it shouldn't be a problem, right, Yukinoshita-san?"
Hearing this, Yukino walked coldly to her seat.
"It's up to you to decide, Sagami-san, because you're the chairperson."
Seeing this scene, Minami hesitated even more, but then Hachiman nodded faintly at her, giving her some reassurance.
Although she initially doubted Hachiman's ability to help, witnessing even Haruno, the revered idol of the student council president, praising him dispelled any skepticism she had.
So when Hachiman agreed, Minami nodded in agreement.
"That's alright, welcome this senior to join as a volunteer group for the cultural festival."
Upon hearing this, Haruno's face lit up with a radiant smile, and she reached out to hug Minami's shoulder. "Ah, thank you so much, Chairperson."
However, unfortunately, Yukino's expression remained cold, devoid of any signs of happiness.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Meguri intervened.
"All right, all right, now that everyone is here, we can start the meeting."
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Chapter 440: Haruno's Scheme
"Alright, now that everyone is here, we can start the meeting," Meguri said as everyone took their seats, with Haruno casually sitting in a corner next to Hachiman.
Whether intentional or not, she ended up next to Hachiman.
As the meeting began, Minami, as the chairperson, spoke first. After Yukino's demonstration earlier, she had some idea of what to ask.
"Could each group please report on their progress so far?"
"As for the Promotion Team..."
As various groups reported their progress, Haruno, seated beside Hachiman, spoke up.
"Hikigaya-kun, what do you think?"
"What do you mean by 'what do you think,' Miss Haruno?" Hachiman asked casually.
Haruno smiled faintly. "I mean, what do you think about Yukino becoming the executive committee member?"
"Oh, that. Well, I don't think it's necessarily surprising, considering you previously served as the chairperson," Hachiman shrugged.
"For Yukino, who has always been pursuing you, becoming the executive committee member is quite natural."
Haruno was surprised by how well Hachiman seemed to understand their situation.
"Hmm, Hikigaya-kun seems to know quite a bit about us sisters. I wonder what else you know," Haruno said.
"Well, who knows? I might know some things I shouldn't," Hachiman smirked mysteriously.
Hearing this, Haruno squinted her eyes.
Normally, she could read people quite well, but now she couldn't seem to see through Hachiman.
This added a hint of wariness to Haruno's thoughts, but one thing she was certain of was that her sister definitely had a deep connection with Hachiman.
By this point, each group had almost finished reporting their progress.
"Great job, everyone. Keep up the good work," Minami encouraged with a smile.
Just then, Haruno, who had been silent until now, spoke up suddenly.
"Hey, I have a suggestion. Can I share it?"
"What's your suggestion, Haruno-senpai?" Meguri, being the fan she was, immediately supported.
"I think the cultural festival should be enjoyed to the fullest. Although we're part of the executive committee, we shouldn't lose touch with our classmates. I still remember how much fun I had with my classmates back then," Haruno spoke up, seemingly out of the blue.
Although her words were addressed to everyone, her gaze rested on Minami, who was seated at the main position.
Because Haruno knew that as long as Minami, the chairperson, agreed, her plan would be halfway successful.
If everyone involved in the executive committee enjoyed themselves at the festival, Haruno's hardworking sister would undoubtedly take on all the remaining tasks to ensure that the work progressed smoothly.
Faced with such a huge workload, Yukino might hold out for a while, but eventually, she would seek help from others.
Whether she sought help from herself or from Hachiman, once Yukino asked for assistance, her plan would succeed.
After all, Haruno was somewhat of a sister-con, so how could Yukino's tendencies be lost on her?
In her eyes, Yukino was perfect in every way, except for being too stubborn.
And in order to surpass herself, Yukino had always relied solely on her own efforts, never seeking help from others.
But one person's abilities were ultimately limited. If one tried to handle everything alone, they would eventually face hardship.
So, in order to teach Yukino to ask for help, Haruno had tried various methods, but in the end, she could only prove that Yukino was indeed very capable and could handle many things on her own.
However, when Haruno saw that Minami was the chairperson today, she immediately thought of this tactic.
For Haruno, Minami was too easy to control. With just a bit of verbal persuasion, she could easily get Minami to follow her own ideas.
Sure enough, after hearing Haruno's words, Minami's eyes showed signs of wavering, and it wasn't just her; others seemed to be affected as well.
After all, no one enjoys tedious work.
If it were before, Minami would have definitely agreed without hesitation. However, recalling Hachiman's earlier words, she hesitated for a moment.
"Although that's true, it's also worth considering past experiences, but..."
At that moment, Yukino, seated in the vice-chairperson position, spoke up.
"Sagami-san, that's a misguided notion. We need to accelerate our preparation pace to ensure we have buffer time in case of any unforeseen circumstances."
"So, please don't mislead everyone, Onee-san."
"Huh? Yukino, don't be so rigid. I worked hard with my classmates back then too," Haruno interjected with a smile.
But then, Hachiman's voice echoed in the meeting room.
"I also disagree with this proposal!"
"While I agree with the sentiment of enjoying the cultural festival, we're still members of the executive committee. We need to fulfill our responsibilities and ensure the smooth execution of the festival."
Though his voice wasn't particularly loud, it resonated clearly with everyone present. Moreover, at the same time, an invisible aura seemed to emanate from Hachiman, weighing on everyone's hearts.
"Y-yes... we need to ensure the smooth running of the cultural festival," Minami hastily nodded, as if finding her backbone.
"So, sorry about this, but we can't adopt your proposal, Haruno-senpai."
Seeing this scene, Haruno squinted slightly.
As expected, Minami was easily influenced, but now she was under Hachiman's influence, not hers.
Since Minami was now under Hachiman's control, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to intervene.
It seemed she would have to come up with another plan.
With a hint of regret on her face, Haruno realized she would have to find another way.
"Oh? Well, that's a shame," Haruno responded.
Whether her regret stemmed from the failure of her plan or the rejection of her proposal, that remained unknown.
But then, Meguri once again stepped in to lighten the mood.
"Well, well, let's not get discouraged, everyone. As long as we can finish preparing for the cultural festival as quickly as possible, we'll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves."
It must be said that Meguri's voice was quite pleasant, like a refreshing spring, soothing everyone's hearts. This must be the "Meguri Energy" that Hachiman praised in the original work.
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces brightened considerably.
Yes, as long as they completed their work ahead of schedule, they would have time to enjoy themselves.
With renewed vigor, the members of the executive committee once again busied themselves enthusiastically in the meeting room.
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